A driver who was killed in a horror crash in Essex lost control of his van after a lump of concrete came through the windscreen, police have revealed.

The crash happened on the northbound carriageway of the M11 near Birchanger, a village close to Stansted Airport, at around 4.50pm on Wednesday.

A Vauxhall Corsa van hit the central reservation barrier before it left the road on the passenger side and collided with a tree.

A piece of concrete – around the size of a house brick – was found to have struck the windscreen.

The driver, a man aged in his 60s and from Sible Hedingham, died at the scene.

The death is being treated as suspicious, with forensic work being carried out at the Goose Lane bridge, which goes over the M11 in the Birchanger area.

However, police have since established the concrete could not have been thrown from the bridge or from the side of the road.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Pasmore, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: “As part of our enquiries, we closed the bridge at Goose Lane and the one about a mile and a half before it to carry out forensic examination work.

“We have now established the concrete could not have been thrown from either bridge, and nor was it part of the masonry. We are also satisfied it was not thrown from the roadside.

“We continue to keep an open mind as to how it came to strike the windscreen and ended up inside the van, and whether this was the result of a deliberate act or accidental.

“It is vital we speak to drivers who were travelling on the M11 Birchanger area, either north or southbound, at around 4.50pm.

“I am particularly keen to speak to anyone who saw the car in the moments before it struck the central reservation and then moved across to the nearside.

“I also want to speak to drivers on either the north or southbound side who saw an object in the road, or anyone who drove over an object on the northbound side.”

The Goose Lane bridge remained closed on Thursday for investigative work.

Contact the Major Investigation Room at Harlow on 01279621802 or email scdappeals.essex@essex.pnn.police.uk with information or dash cam footage.

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